Women in mountain rescue - #RKEFest23

I am a Senior Lecturer in Sociology here at Leeds Beckett University. My previous research work has been focused on understanding inequalities, gender and peoples’ experiences of welfare interventions and other kinds of services that are designed to help them. I have primarily been interested in examining whether the assumptions that are made by policy makers align with lived experiences of service users.

More recently I've taken a new direction in my research and I am currently working on a project with Dr Jen Hall from York St. John University, who has research expertise in gender in adventure tourism and mountaineering, and Aneela McKenna of Mòr Diversity.

Jen and I are both operational members of mountain rescue teams in the UK and are both members of the recently established Women in Mountain Rescue Working Group that's part of the national umbrella organisation Mountain Rescue England and Wales (MREW).

Through the working group we've been involved in events exploring the experiences of women in this historically male dominated volunteering role. Mountain rescue is also interesting organisationally, as each individual team is a charity operating under the overarching body of MREW, Scottish Mountain Rescue, the Lake District Search and Mountain Rescue Association or Mountain Rescue Ireland depending on regional location.

Beyond the more obvious tasks of rescuing people who are lost and injured in the mountains, rescue teams also work closely with the ambulance service to provide rescue capabilities for people who are injured or unwell in difficult to access, but not necessarily particularly remote, locations. They also undertake searches for missing people alongside the police. We have people who are trained to undertake swift water and flood rescue and many team members are also qualified Casualty Carers, trained to deliver first line care for medical incidents and trauma injuries in the outdoors.

Jen and I are working on initial data collection with some seed corn funding from both universities and from this we will develop a larger research project looking at the experiences of those who work in a voluntary capacity in mountain rescue and other search and rescue organisations in the UK. We're particularly interested in exploring this through an EDI (equality diversity and inclusion) lens and as part of our research outputs, we will develop a toolkit for teams to help them engage in good practice around recruitment, training and retention.

There are lots of fascinating themes to explore in the work, from understanding peoples’ motivations for being involved in this time-intensive volunteer work, to exploring how perceptions of what the work involves might influence whether people perceive themselves to have the appropriate skills and experience to join a team.

We are also interested in exploring how training, team culture and connection to local environments impact on volunteer experiences. With the recently increased focus in practice and research on diversity and inclusion in the outdoors and sport, and on EDI in the statutory emergency services, it is a really exciting time to be developing our project.

Images: Just a few of the women in mountain rescue. Images (in alphabetical order) courtesy of Kerry Harrison, David Higgs, Nadir Khan, Ed Smith,
Padraig Spillane, Aberglaslyn MRT, Bowland Pennine MRT, Buxton MRT, Cave Rescue Organisation, Dartmoor Ashburton MRT, Glossop MRT, Langdale Ambleside MRT, Northumberland National Park MRT, Ogwen Valley MRO, Scarborough & Ryedale MRT, West Cornwall MRT and Woodhead MRT.

Photos originally published in Mountain Rescue England and Wales Annual Review 2023.